


Return

by jellijeans



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Gen, Spoilers, but like it'll make sense if you play the hidden truths dlc, going by the theory that awakening squad returns to ylisse post fates, or like part of it, spoilers for fire emblem fates, spoilers for fire emblem fates: revelation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-07
Updated: 2016-04-07
Packaged: 2018-05-31 18:15:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6481582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jellijeans/pseuds/jellijeans
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>laslow, selena, and odin make a final journey back to the place that they know as their real, true home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Return

“Soleil, is all your stuff packed?” Laslow’s voice rang out in the quiet tent, stretching. Soleil nodded, looking back sadly at the camp.  
“Yes, Dad. It’s kind of sad to be leaving this place behind, but...I’m excited to meet my family.” Soleil said, nodding cheerfully. “Mom and Ophelia and Mr. Odin are coming with us, right?”  
Laslow nodded. “Yeah. And...you’ll be a touch surprised at Odin’s status in the other world.”  
“So, Dad,” Soleil started, “where exactly are we going? ...and why do I need to bring everything with me that I ever want to see again to this place, and why can’t we return here?”  
Laslow sat down, and patted at the spot beside him, calling Soleil over.  
“I figure I did promise to tell you that day,” Laslow commented. He stretched before continuing. “Soleil, this is important, and whatever happens, you need to believe me.” He drew her in for a kiss, running a hand through her red hair, a color shared to her from her mother, Selena—or Severa, technically, in the world they were returning to. “Soleil, I, your mother, and Odin...we aren’t from this world.”  
Soleil flinched. “...how...how can you not be from this world?! So we’re not just leaving Nohr, we’re leaving this entire world?!” Laslow nodded sadly.  
“This is why I said we could never return, Soleil...and I’m sorry. I’ll never leave you without your consent, and I know that by a long journey, this isn’t what you thought I meant, so we can stay here—”  
“No, Dad.” Soleil looked at her father with a firm, dedicated look in her eyes, which surprised him, but pleased him at the same time. “Dad, our family is in that world, right? And if you’re going...I’m not going to be afraid, Dad. I’m going with you, even if it means leaving this world behind.” She looked back at her hands, smiling, but still with an undertone of nostalgia and sorrow. “Besides, we already said goodbye.”  
“That’s...true, Soleil.” Laslow wrapped his arms around her, giving her a hug, before a quick father-to-daughter kiss on the forehead. “I’m proud of you, and I’m so happy that...we’re going home. Soleil, this other world is similar to this one, but very different—the same language is spoken, with some minor differences, and clothing is very different. The land we’re returning to is called Ylisse.”  
“Ylisse,” Soleil murmured, testing how the word felt on her tongue. “It seems...right.”  
“A catastrophe recently happened in Ylisse, similar to what happened with Anankos here,” Laslow continued. “The fell dragon Grima came and destroyed my original world, a different timeline from the one we’re returning to. So, me, your mother, Odin, and many of our friends journeyed back with the help of our goddess to the split in the timeline, and helped our parents defeat Grima. So although we’re all around the same age in that time, we’re all happy, Soleil. You’ll...finally get to meet your grandmother. And the royal family of Ylisse are the descendants of the Hero-King, Marth—”  
“Wait, Dad, this is a lot to take in,” Soleil interrupted. “I don’t need to be told everything here. We have to leave soon, anyways. I’m gonna miss Forrest and Siegbert, and maybe even Dwyer, but...I’m excited to go home.”

At midnight, the pair set out for the so-called “bottomless canyon”, on the bridge with the hole in it. Once they arrived, they met with Selena, Odin, and Ophelia, conversing.  
“We can use the spheres in Valla, right?” Odin asked. For once, he had dropped the theatrical speaking, being serious about returning to their former world. Selena nodded.  
“It’s the safest place to use them,” she confirmed. “And with Azura gone...” She flinched, giving a moment of silence for their forgotten friend. “Corrin rules Valla now, and she understands what’s going on. We can just do it in the Vallite lake. We’re returning to the world where everyone is still alive, right?”  
“Still...alive?” Ophelia asked, gasping. “Are you implying there is another world where those precious to us and the fellow chosen ones have passed on to some greater astral sky? That they’ve...died?”  
Odin’s hand tightened around his daughter’s, tightly shutting his eyes to block the memories. “Yes, Ophelia. They...died...but not because of this. This is what helped us save them.”  
Soleil noticed her mother’s eyes beginning to water, so she shared a glance with Laslow before going over to hug Selena. The hotheaded mercenary gave a small smile as she pushed back her unshed tears.  
“Yes—we’re returning to the world where we succeeded. There’s so little left in that other world—even though it’s peaceful, there’s nothing for us to return to, and we all know and love everyone back in the world we saved. We all still have the spheres, right?”  
Odin and Laslow nodded, pulling out crystal spheres from the bags that they had brought. Soleil and Ophelia exchanged glances of confusion before returning to their fathers, clinging tightly to them. Selena revealed a sphere as well.  
“They aren’t functional until we’re in Valla, but they’ll do fine,” Laslow explained to Soleil. The younger mercenary nodded, still confused, but feeling safer.  
With that, the five of them jumped off the bridge and into Valla.

“...now that we’re here, can we tell them the rest of the information? They already know where we’re going, but...”  
“...yeah. I think that’s a good idea.”

The voices of their parents corresponding between themselves was the thing that awoke Ophelia and Soleil from their fall-induced slumber. They merely pushed themselves up and stared down into the lake they had awoken by, seeing not a reflection, but the bottom of the bridge in Nohr. Much to their surprise, Shigure had stepped onto the bridge, looking down into the chasm. He gave a knowing wave down, as if waving goodbye to Ophelia and Soleil, and then returned to his camp.  
“Shigure...” Ophelia whispered. She kneeled over the side of the lake, watching the blue-haired boy retreat from the bridge while humming the song Azura had taught him. “Oh, gods, I’ll miss everyone here so much! But...I’m so excited to meet my family...is that...bad?” Ophelia murmured to herself. Soleil gave a dejected sigh and then returned to their parents, who had beckoned them over.  
“Listen. Ophelia, Soleil, we need to tell you something,” Laslow started. “My name isn’t Laslow, nor is Selena’s name Selena or Odin’s name Odin. When we came to this world—Nohr and Hoshido and Valla—we could not reveal our true identities in any way. As such, Anankos changed our appearances and were given new names. Who you know as Laslow or Odin or Selena, you should truly know as Inigo and Owain and Severa.” A look of shock fluttered across the two girls’ faces. The mercenary turned to his daughter, feeling tears starting to rise. He fell to his knees, holding one of her hands in between his. “Soleil...I’m sorry for keeping this from you for so long. Casting aside my identity, I’ve become a father who isn’t as he seems—I only hope you can forgive me for this.”  
“Father...” Soleil murmured. She dropped to a crouch and hugged him. “I can only assume the reason why this means so much to you is because you’ve lived...two, three different lives now? One as an orphan shoved into war, another as a hero stranded in time, and a third as a retainer in a world unknown, and two of them are true to you but the third one isn’t, and that’s where I—where we—came in. Father, there is nothing to apologize for, and nothing to forgive.”  
Next to her, Ophelia nodded in agreement at Owain, who was gazing quietly at his friend. Severa, too, had quieted, thinking about the past. Soleil withdrew from her embrace, looking her father in the eyes.  
“Dad, no matter what world you’re in, and no matter what life you’re living or what name you go by, you’re _still_ my dad, and nothing changes that.I love you.”  
With that, Inigo quietly started crying, drawing his daughter into another tight hug, and whispering “thank you” and “I’m sorry” over and over again, among many incoherable words.

After a while, he managed to pull himself together again, drying the last of his tears with his sleeve. He looked at his shield, and he and Severa exchanged knowing glances.  
“Inigo, remember how we talked about how it felt unnatural to use these shields, because they didn’t have dents in them?” Severa asked, looking at hers. The initial beauty of the shield still remained, although it was heavily dented, and the design had been scraped off by enemy swords in some spots.  
“...I remember. Still, I’m looking forward to...getting our old gear back.” Inigo responded. He stood up, staring at the lake, and took Soleil’s hand. On her other side, Severa grabbed her daughter’s free hand, holding her sphere out in front of her. Owain gripped his daughter’s shoulder as he shifted her in front of him, examining the sphere.  
“It’s been so long,” Owain said, laughing. “We’re finally going home.”

With that, the three of them, tightly gripping their children, dropped the spheres and watched them shatter.

They were enveloped in a white light and found themselves standing in a frozen scene, seeing a lifeless, still Grima facing a dark blue haired man with eyes to match. Next to the man was a woman in a long cloak surrounding her clothes, which was black with purple marks on the back. The scene was still, but they could feel the energy pulsing through the blade that the man held, which was pointed at the dragon’s gaping maw. It took some time for them to notice, but just under the dragon’s head was a woman who looked exactly like the one next to the man, but wreathed in shadows. Owain immediately flinched at this sight, and Inigo moved to shield Severa’s eyes as she pressed her face into his chest, reliving traumatic memories from an era gone. Soleil and Ophelia moved forward to inspect the frozen figures, and then turned around to inspect the others that surrounded them. Around them, they saw two cavaliers in viridian and crimson armor fighting side by side, fending off from zombie-like creatures. A tall man in heavy armor sat atop an equally armored steed, protecting a petite blonde woman, holding a staff, who was casting a healing spell on a manakete hiding behind a foreign-looking myrmidon, clutching a shattered dragonstone in her hands. A wyvern rider struck an enemy with an axe while a mercenary defended her with a sword. Ophelia moved towards the cleric by the mounted knight, inspecting her face and her body.  
“Soleil, come look at this,” she called. Soleil had been inspecting a pink-haired dancer, who was impromptu performing for a shapeshifter, still in beast form. The other girl ran over, surprised to see who Ophelia had been looking at. Ophelia traced a finger over the cleric’s jawline, inspecting her face.  
“Soleil, she looks exactly like me! Who do you think this is? Do you—”  
“Soleil! Ophelia! Get back over here!” Severa called. Ophelia frowned and dashed back over, Soleil following her.  
As soon as they arrived, a figure cloaked in a faint light materialized. The figure—or woman, more accurately—was quite tall, dressed in white, with a waterfall of dark green hair. Inigo, Owain, and Severa immediately fell to their knees in deep bows, and Ophelia and Soleil, although confused, mirrored their actions. The figure gave an amused laugh before signaling for them to stand up.  
“Heroes of a world gone,” the figure drawled. “I am Naga, the last of the ancient manaketes. I have seen your accomplishments in that other world, and I know that Anankos has assisted you—for this, I am both proud and grateful. I understand that you intend to return to your world using the spheres he has given you—because you are using the spheres and not the method used traveling to the current Ylisse, you will not get separated. However, do know that you cannot travel through time again. One who travels through time and space cannot do so freely, and must eventually stay at their destination; if you return to this world, you are there for the rest of your lives, and the lives of your children. I will not stop you if you consent, but I will not force you. Are these terms okay with you?”  
“We consent to these terms,” the heroes echoed. Naga overlooked the three older soldiers and turned to their daughters in the back, giving a suggestive look. Ophelia and Soleil met eyes.  
“We consent,” they echoed. There was no turning back anymore.

“Gather here, in front of me,” Naga called. The quintet met in a semicircle, looking at the scene unfolding around them. “This is the area where fate was challenged and destiny was conquered,” the manakete explained, gesturing to the battle occurring between the man, the two women, and the dragon. “Fate can always be changed. Destiny is not some pre-set path, and I am proud of you five for learning. Now that you’re travelling back, your appearances and your names are returned to their true form. You are no longer Laslow, Selena, and Odin, but Inigo, Severa, and Owain. Owain, you have your Mark back, in case you were still wondering. May you have the gods’ favor as you return. Godspeed, children.”

They were enveloped in a blinding white light again before being dropped at the outside wall of Ylisstol, just beyond the capitol’s walls. Owain traced his fingers over the brick, breathing deeply in the air that spoke only one word to the older trio: home.  
“Inigo! Owain! We need to go find our families,” Severa yelled excitedly. She covered her mouth, realizing how loud she was. “No more war for any of us—we can be happy! We can finally live in peace,” she said, smiling. “Come! Let’s go!”

The five of them walked into Ylisstol with smiles wider than they’d been in several years; Inigo and Severa walked in holding hands, and Odin watching Ophelia and Soleil run ahead cheerfully, playing in the streets. Anyone they looked at greeted them with a smile; it had been a long time since they’d been in the bustling capitol of their homeland.  
“Ah...shit,” Inigo muttered. “What if the Shepherds moved their camp? It’s been a few years, so Chrom’s probably settled into being Exalt with Robin as his wife, but the Shepherds...where are they?”  
Selena and Odin frowned and stopped walking. Owain wandered over to the nearest passerby and pulled up part of his sleeve to reveal his mark.  
“Um, hi—do you happen to know where the camp of the Shepherds is?” Owain asked. The woman he was talking to nodded.  
“Oh, they’re still in their camp on the west exit to the city,” she nodded.  
“Thank you!”

It took them perhaps half an hour to wander over as the shape of the city reimplemented itself in their minds; however, they easily made it over to the west part of the city, finding the Shepherd’s camp quite easily after that. It still retained the looks and the design that it had during the war, and even from the outside, the group could tell it was buzzing with energy. By the looks of it, Chrom was inside as well, as Owain spotted the edge of Lissa’s skirt through the open door, and he knew from memory that if the two of them ever left the castle, it was together.  
“Oh, Soleil, you’re going to love everyone here!” Inigo commented. For the first time in so long, his smile reached all the way to his eyes. Selena was bouncing on her feet, desperate to get to the familiar camp, but not wanting to leave her family behind. Ophelia was looking at the Mark she had, finally seeing her father’s; although she was unsure of what it meant, she smiled at what connected them together.

They strolled over, and Severa watched as the door clicked shut, presumably for a meeting. She exhaled in frustration and knocked on the door, tapping her foot. She could barely hear the conversation inside.  
“Oh, for the love of—someone go get the door!”  
“Ricken, you do it!”  
“I don’t want to do it! Virion, you do it.”  
“Opening doors is below my royal title—”  
“...Milord, with all due respect, the people of Rosanne cast you out.”  
“...Cherche, that information was not needed.”  
“...Chrom? Do you want to?”  
“I’m conducting this meeting, so...”  
An exasperated sigh spread out among the people, leaving Severa snickering behind the door. Inigo and the others edged closer to her, trying to overhear the conversation.  
“...hm. Sully—”  
“No.”  
“...it was worth a try, at least.”  
“Olivia?”  
“N-no way! I’m too shy! What if it’s someone we know?”  
“Stahl?”  
The voice that presumably belonged to Stahl uttered a few incoherent noises through a mouth most likely full of food.  
“If you’re all going to bicker, I’ll get it.”  
“Sorry, Cordelia!”

Severa flinched at the mention of her mother, and backed away from the door, taking a deep breath. In a moment or two, the door flung open, and Cordelia’s jaw dropped.  
“ _Severa?!_ ”  
“...hey, Mother,” Severa murmured, giving her mother a tearful smile. Inigo and Owain stood behind her, grinning at the friend that they had finally reacquainted with—behind them, Soleil and Ophelia, although confused, peered out at the redheaded pegasus knight from behind their fathers. Cordelia threw herself forward and gave her daughter a tighter embrace than the mercenary had ever felt in her life—although both of them were crying, smiles brighter than the sun placed themselves on their faces. Inigo and Owain exchanged a knowing glance, grinning.

“Owain, we did it,” Inigo said, stretching.  
“Yeah. We finally did it,” Owain agreed, feeling tears of happiness rising. “We’re home.”

**Author's Note:**

> askfhjdweo i'm sorry this one is like pretty bad--initially i was tempted to add a second chapter but i can't really bring myself to continue this fic. also; ophelia's mother was intended to be azura, since she is the one who notices shigure at the end.


End file.
